Case Study

Texas Christian University

Quick Wins for IT

Gained ability to quickly implement a software-as-service (SaaS) model
Achieved affordable pricing and low total cost of ownership
Improved cross-IT integration, communication and coordination
Convenience of concurrent software licensing mode

The Challenge

Founded in 1873, Texas Christian University (TCU) is a leading national university with nearly 10,000 active students, offering more than 130 undergraduate programs, 61 master’s level programs, and 24 areas of doctoral study. By delivering a unique experience at a world-class, values-centered university, TCU attracts students from all over the country and the world. In addition to students and a staff of more than 2,000 employees, TCU supports interactions with several key university communities—including nearly 20,000 applicants, alumni, retirees, and other groups.

To increase support of the university’s continued growth and expansion—including multiple campus renovation projects—the TCU Information Technology department required a more comprehensive, powerful IT service management (ITSM) SaaS solution that could scale efficiently as the university expanded. TCU’s previous ITSM solution lacked flexibility and a truly codeless platform with the capacity for innovation. In addition, not all IT groups were using the same software, which created communication, coordination, and accountability issues. “We needed a comprehensive, flexible ITSM SaaS platform that could grow with us and put control where it belongs—on the front lines at the service desk,” said Joshua Tooley, associate director of IT support at TCU.

"We liked Cherwell’s concurrent licensing model, affordable pricing, and self-service portal capabilities. The codeless platform allows the service desk to build everything we need to do our jobs without expert developers." - Joshua Tooley - Associate Director of IT Support

The Solution

Using a rigorous ITSM solution selection process that included an expert search committee, a 200- question request for proposal, and detailed requirements, TCU selected Cherwell® Service Management, a comprehensive, holistic ITSM solution with a powerful interactive self-service portal, built-in dashboards and business intelligence, and a complete family of mobile apps.

“Cherwell Service Management met all our requirements, and our experience is that Cherwell cares about their customers, “ said Tooley. “What really sold us was our positive interaction with the company.Our team spoke directly with Cherwell's developers about our requirements, including full Bomgar™ integration, and they added the new functionality we needed within a month—which was extremely impressive. In addition, we like Cherwell's concurrent licensing model, affordable SaaS pricing, and self-service portal capabilities—and the codeless platform that allows the service desk to build everything we need to do our jobs without expert developers.”

The Results

In phase one of the Cherwell Service Management project, TCU is implementing Incident Management, Request Fulfillment, Knowledge Management, an interactive self-service portal for students and employees, Service Catalog, and Configuration Management to link into their PeopleSoft® asset management system.

“We’re looking forward to Cherwell's dynamic dashboards, business intelligence and actionable metrics,” said Tooley. “I’ve already created a standard set of IT dashboards for teams and individuals. With our previous ITSM tool, it was way too much work to even get to the reports, no way to alert you when there was a problem, and no dynamic alerts. With Cherwell Service Management, we have all these capabilities.”

“Our goal is to transform the service desk with integrated communication and coordination between all IT groups and across the university,” said Tooley.

The Future

In phase two of its Cherwell Service Management implementation, TCU will be implementing Problem Management, Change Management, IT Project Management, as well as advanced reporting, dashboards, and metrics – all in the next six to twelve months. TCU IT also plans to leverage Cherwell Service Management to assist with projects in other university departments that deal with managing customer interactions. “Once we’ve developed actionable, meaningful metrics in Cherwell, we can use it as a comprehensive service management platform to expand capabilities across the organization,” commented Tooley.

About StrataCom

StrataCom is a Cherwell Software partner with consultants who leverage decades of experience in both process consulting and technical execution. StrataCom offers the following services around CSM: implementation, enhancements/building out Cherwell Service Management, integration, roadmap planning, RightSize ITIL process consulting, upgrades, reporting and metrics, training, support, and staff augmentation.

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